Miniature cameras are well known. Miniature cameras are widely used in contemporary cellular telephones. They are also used in other devices, such as laptop computers and personal digital assistants (PDAs). Miniature cameras can even be used as stand alone devices for such applications as security and surveillance.
Contemporary miniature cameras, such as those used in cellular telephones, are fixed focus cameras. That is, the focus of the cameras is preset. The camera has a small enough aperture so as to provide sufficient depth of field such that focus is generally acceptable over a wide range of distances. However, such stopping down of the camera severely limits its use in low light conditions. It also limits resolution by inhibiting the use of higher pixel counts. Larger apertures allow higher pixel counts, but require the use of variable focus in order to obtain the desired depth of field.
Variable focus necessitates the use of movable optics. However, movable optics suffer from inherent disadvantages. Foremost among these disadvantages is the size of the mechanisms required to effect and control movement of the movable optics. For example, the structures used to control the movement of optics in larger cameras are simply too large for use in many miniature cameras. As such, it is desirable to provide miniature structures for controlling motion in miniature cameras.